James Cleverly to make landmark China visit in bid to ‘protect UK national security’ August 29, 2023 Foreign secretary James Cleverly will make a landmark visit to China on Wednesday in a bid to reaffirm the UK’s protection of national security. Cleverly, who is currently in the Philippines, will fly to Beijing on August 30 for high-level talks with top officials including vice president Han Zheng and foreign affairs minister Wang Yi. [...]
Sunak’s China strategy set for first real test as Cleverly prepares for Beijing trip August 28, 2023 Cleverly is widely expected to fly to Beijing this week, marking the first visit to China by a UK foreign secretary in five years.
Nadine Dorries QUITS as Tory MP with scathing attack on PM Rishi Sunak August 26, 2023 Nadine Dorries has resigned her parliamentary seat with a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak, accusing him of “demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy” against her. The Tory former minister had announced in June that she would quit the Commons with “immediate effect” in protest at not getting a [...]
56 per cent of Brits expect Labour leader Keir Starmer to be next PM – with bleak picture for Tories: poll August 25, 2023 A majority of the public expects Sir Keir Starmer to become prime minister, a new poll has found. Some 56% of people told pollster Ipsos UK they thought it was “likely” the Labour leader would succeed Rishi Sunak, with only 28% saying they thought it was unlikely. That figure equals the previous high point for [...]
Asylum backlog reaches new record high August 24, 2023 The UK’s asylum backlog has hit a new record high, with 80 per cent of people waiting longer than six months for an initial decision. Home Office figures show a total of 175,457 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June 2023. This is [...]
Rishi Sunak breached MPs’ code of conduct by not declaring wife Akshata Murty’s shares August 24, 2023 Rishi Sunak broke the MPs’ code of conduct by failing to correctly declare his wife’s shares in a childminding company, the Commons’ standards commissioner has said. Daniel Greenberg concluded the breach arose out of the prime minister’s “confusion” around the rules on declaration, and decided to close the inquiry without the need for further action. [...]
Twitter owner Elon Musk to be invited to government investment summit August 22, 2023 Twitter owner Elon Musk is among top business leaders expected to be invited to Rishi Sunak’s global investment summit this autumn. Tesla boss Musk – who recently bought and renamed Twitter as X – is among figures including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos who officials are keen to see attend the summit, according to Sky News. [...]
UK downplays reports of ‘imminent’ India trade deal ahead of G20 summit August 22, 2023 The UK has downplayed reports that a trade deal with India is “imminent” ahead of the G20 summit in Delhi next month. Some reports in the Indian press suggested that a deal could be agreed as early as September. Prime ministers Rishi Sunak and Narendra Modi are expected to meet at the G20 conference, with [...]
Just eight per cent of voters credit Sunak with falling inflation, poll finds August 21, 2023 Just eight per cent of voters believe the government can be given credit for the recent fall in inflation, polling by YouGov has revealed. Inflation dropped to 6.8 per cent last month, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed showed his plan was working. Sunak made five key pledges to the public in January, including vowing [...]
Rishi Sunak says we’ll feel better off next year – but is the PM right? August 18, 2023 Rishi Sunak has pledged Brits will all feel better off next year, as he said he “passionately believes” he can bring down inflation and ease the cost of living crisis. Speaking to the Times, the prime minister vowed to be disciplined on public spending and tax rates in a bid to revive the UK’s economic [...]